What the Challenge Was is a free printable Grade 2 English worksheet on linking a character's action to the problem they faced, aligned to Common Core standard RL.2.3. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 24 of them with different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 7 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. 24 of these 25 sets ask different questions — this skill does not have 25 questions to give. The rest reorder them, so no two pupils have the same paper in front of them.
What the Challenge Was
RL.2.3
NameDate
Read the story, then answer the questions.
1.Read the text, then answer the questions.
The New Boy
A new boy called Iosif joined the class in November. He did not speak much English yet.
At playtime he stood by the wall. Some children waved. He looked away.
Marta noticed he was watching the football. She rolled the ball to him. He stopped it neatly and rolled it back.
They passed it for ten minutes without saying a word. When the bell went, Iosif said one word: "Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow," said Marta.
1. What does Marta do that the others do not?
2. Why did passing the ball work when waving did not?
3. How does Iosif respond at first when children wave?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
The Crow and the Pitcher
A crow had flown for hours without finding water. At last she saw a pitcher standing in a garden.
She landed on the rim and looked in. There was water at the bottom, but the neck was narrow and her beak could not reach it. She pushed the pitcher. It was too heavy to tip.
Then the crow noticed the pebbles on the path. She picked one up and dropped it in. Then another. Then another. Each pebble pushed the water a little higher.
After forty pebbles, the water reached the top. The crow drank until she had had enough.
1. Why did each pebble make the water rise?
2. What does dropping forty pebbles tell you about the crow?
3. How does the crow respond to the problem of the narrow neck?
LessonPrint · RL.2.3 · Set 7 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — What the Challenge Was
Set 7. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. She rolls him the ball instead of waving. 2. Passing needed no words, so Iosif could join in without speaking English. 3. He looks away.
2.1. The pebbles took up room at the bottom, pushing the water up the narrow neck. 2. She is patient — she kept dropping pebbles even though each one raised the water only a little. 3. She does not give up — she tries pushing it, then drops in pebbles one at a time.
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.2.3 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.